The RIMBEY Plan was the shadow program to the STELLAR 20 Program that set the conditions for Earth culture to be the dominant force in the multi-Star system alliance that was first the SOLAR GROUP ALLIANCE and is now the UNITED ALLIANCE.
Using the information from the MEGANITE COMPUTER secured by Earth forces on MARS in 2228 a careful strategy was set forth.
First off: The STELLAR 20 PROGRAM was created,
Designed to send 20 Teams out in Faster than Light craft to the nearest useful Starsystems of other people either threatened or quarantined by the MEGANITE EMPIRE.
The task of these 20 crews was first to damage or destroy the MEGANITE QUARANTINE STATIONS in orbit thus freeing the people of the planet below and then proceeding down to make first contact.
First Contact was to involve the crews of the STELLAR 20, who had been studying the MEG INFORMATION on their target world while en route.
Contact essentially was to EXCHANGE INFO PAKS with the central or represenatative Government of each world but following the RIMBEY PLAN the INFO PAKS given to each world would contain information only about Earth and English without providing any information about the other 20 target worlds being simultaneously contacted.
The PLAN was that by the time the target worlds were brought together in the FIRST GATHERING (in actuality 10 cultures formed the first gathering) the only thing this multi-lingual / multi-cultural group would have in common was their hatred of the Meganites and their knowledge of ENGLISH and Earth thereby securing Earth dominance in a multi-world Alliance.
The plan worked wonderfully.
Each world liberated by a STELLAR 20 and receiving an INFO PAK immediately set about educating their masses in the language of their Liberators. By the FIRST GATHERING, which had news crews from each of the 10 worlds, English was being taught in schools on 10 worlds and 8 out of 10 delegates came fully fluent.
By the time the SOLAR GROUP ALLIANCE was officially announced it was estimated more than 15 Billion beings were speaking English.
As ENGLISH became the language of the MEG WAR it too became the language of the ALLIANCE although the failings and complications of the language showed terrible strain during those years resulting in a fair amount of frustration being levied in the ALLIANCE COUNCIL resulting in the creation of the much simplified version ANGLISH which was officially adopted on the formation of the UNITED ALLIANCE in 2245.
Earth culture is currently on the wain throughout the Alliance, after dominating for over 25 years and irreversably affecting this area of space, while many of the other cultures in the ALLIANCE are discovering the diversity of the ALLIANCE. Earth Televid Programs which used to be the staple of ALLIANCE entertainment are now having difficulty finding a space among the plethora of previously unseen entertainment from Dullea, Topanga and other member worlds.
This does not however take from the fact that an English variation is the still the norm for more than 20 standard light years and the language has gained dominance throughout the 50 plus light year sphere of influence in which the UNITED ALLIANCE is center.
